ArticleDigital health
A non-fungible token (NFT)-Based framework for antenatal care in resource-constrained settings.
Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: In many low-resource settings, maternal health records are paper-based, fragmented, and predominantly controlled by institutions. These conditions limit patient agency, disrupt continuity of care, and constrain the efficiency of service delivery. Objective: This study examines the potential of blockchain technology, specifically non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to support a patient-centred approach to antenatal and postnatal record management. Methods: Drawing on Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we conducted a qualitative case study involving eight semi-structured stakeholder interviews at primary healthcare facilities in Zimbabwe. The themes that emerged from the qualitative enquiry were triangulated with observational data and findings from a previously conducted and published systematic literature review by the authors. This multi-method design enabled the exploration of both technical and socio-organisational factors shaping maternal record practices. Results: The study identified persistent challenges, including record duplication, limited interoperability, weak referral mechanisms, and inadequate processes for patient consent and data control. To address these gaps, an NFT-based conceptual architectural framework is proposed that tokenises record ownership and consent for data sharing. This framework has the potential to enable patients to exercise greater agency by controlling access to their data while allowing providers to be granted secure, time-bound permissions tailored to their clinical needs. NFTs also have the potential to reconfigure socio-technical networks by aligning stakeholder interests, strengthening patient agency, and supporting sustainable mobilisation across the health system. Conclusions: The proposed architectural framework is intended to position women as active participants in their maternal care pathways and to strengthen continuity across encounters. By embedding ownership and consent into digital records, blockchain-enabled management offers a potential pathway to more secure, equitable, and patient-centred maternal health systems in low-resource contexts. Empirical validation through pilot implementation and stakeholder co-design is essential before deployment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.